The Scottish Government has published the minutes of these meetings. The final National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group meeting took place on 26 June 2024, so no subsequent meetings of the National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group have been held since this date.

£1,116.7m was allocated to General Medical Services in Scotland for the financial year 2025-26, an increase of 7.1% on the previous year.

We will continue to focus on reform and improvement of the performance of our services by deploying existing resources more efficiently and effectively and working to identify funding to support actions that deliver against our reform vision. This will include measures to improve population health, to intervene earlier with preventative measures delivered through effective primary and community care services and making changes to how we deliver services that will improve quality and access.

The First Minister has committed to a greater proportion of new NHS funding going to primary and community care so that GPs and services in the community will have the resources they need for their essential role in our health system. This increased investment will result in GP services that are easier for people to access.

We will continue to invest in, strengthen and improve the performance of our NHS. The 2025-26 budget supports the expansion of primary care, including new core funding to General Medical Services to deliver enhanced frailty, cardiovascular disease and other essential services in General Practice.

There are robust measures in place in Scotland to help all social and private sector tenants in rent arrears, including those with children, to sustain their tenancy. Pre-action requirements/protocols for tenants facing eviction for rent arrears are in place in both the social and private rented sectors. This ensures that social landlords have exhausted all attempts to resolve rent arrears with the tenant before taking action to evict and that tenants in rent arrears in the private rented sector are provided with information and sign-posted to support to sustain their tenancy wherever possible.

Tenancy sustainment is also a key outcome which social landlords must aim to achieve for their tenants and other customers as part of the Scottish Social Housing Charter. This includes tenants who may be in, or at risk of falling into, arrears with their rent and who may need support to maintain their tenancy. The Scottish Housing Regulator monitors social landlord performance against the standards and outcomes in the Social Housing Charter on an annual basis to help drive up performance.

We have strengthened the protection against eviction for tenants in the private rented sector. In line with the social rented sector, all grounds for eviction are now discretionary. This enables the First-tier Tribunal to consider the specific circumstances of each individual case, including how an eviction order would affect both the tenant and the landlord, before making a decision on whether an eviction order should be issued.

We have also committed to further rented sector reform and the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 includes provisions to further strengthen eviction protections in both the private and social rented sectors by placing a duty on the Court and Tribunal to always consider whether there should be a delay to the enforcement of an eviction order granted on rent arrears grounds based on the circumstances of the individual case.

Hardware purchased to support virtual meetings is often multi-functional and may have a primary use other than supporting virtual meetings. This makes categorising purchases directly related to the provision of virtual meetings difficult. Furthermore, hardware which supports virtual meetings may be purchased and managed by different areas across Scottish Government. For example, the provision of meeting rooms supporting virtual meetings is often a joint effort managed by iTECS and Facilities, with other areas of Scottish Government able to contribute on an ad hoc basis. Therefore, the records pertinent to this question are not held centrally. In this instance, to define, collate, and analyse the information requested would represent a disproportionate cost. However, it should be noted that any hardware purchases should leverage framework agreements which ensure the best value for the public purse.

Transport Scotland and our operating company BEAR Scotland have held discussions with various local stakeholders regarding the A84 Teith Bridge and options for active travel improvement between Doune and Deanston. Transport Scotland is working closely with Stirling Council in regard to this matter.

Consideration has been given to widening the existing bridge. The existing structure is Category A listed, therefore options to widen the bridge or construct a new facility immediately adjacent to it cannot be taken forward. In addition, there would be a need to realign and widen the A84 and acquire land. The limited width on the bridge deck and the inability to widen the bridge means that any improvement to the active travel infrastructure must be either a new structure further away from the existing bridge, or restrictions to vehicular space on the existing bridge.

Restrictions to vehicular space will impact the movement of vehicles across the bridge introducing queuing and delay, including to public transport services. To assess the impacts of this, a vehicular traffic modelling exercise was undertaken considering the viability and merits of potentially introducing permanent traffic signals. The detailed traffic modelling simulates the operation of vehicles in one direction at a time across Teith Bridge with traffic signals on both north and southbound approaches. This would allow the vehicular space on the bridge to be reduced to a single lane and give more space for wider footways. A pedestrian phase in the signals would allow active travel users to cross the A84 on the south side of the bridge.

Two options have been modelled. The first used traffic signals to control vehicles on the A84 in one direction at a time across the bridge. A second option incorporated the adjacent B8032 into the traffic signals. This improves access and egress to and from the local road, however increases delay for traffic on the A84. Both options included the pedestrian phase for crossing the bridge. Traffic survey data was gathered in early 2024 to inform the modelling. To simulate peak visitor times and future years, appropriate factors based on existing and historical traffic data were applied to test a range of scenarios.

The exercise was completed in January 2025, ahead of schedule. The modelling showed that the three way operation incorporating the B8032 would result in unacceptable levels of delay and queuing. A simple vehicular shuttle operation on the bridge may operate with acceptable levels of delay and queuing for vehicles including in average traffic conditions in the summer. However, the modelling indicates that in the peak hours in the summer and easter periods there may be longer delays to vehicles which may not be acceptable. As a result, further investigation is required.

Transport Scotland and BEAR have shared the results of the modelling with Stirling Council and met with them to discuss it. Stirling Council has requested that a live exercise be undertaken to directly investigate the impact on delays to vehicular traffic.

Taking account of the requirements of all modes of travel, including public transport services, it is recognised that the best form of improvement may not be amendment to the trunk road and the existing bridge, or that these may only be a temporary measure. It may be more practical and effective to create an entirely new, offline facility. The results of the traffic modelling exercise will help to inform this. Alternative options would lie outwith the trunk road and therefore outwith the responsibility of Transport Scotland. Progression of these would be the responsibility of Stirling Council or the Regional Transport Partnership to take forward, and Transport Scotland has suggested that the Council continue to appraise the best means of active travel connection between the two communities.

Discussions are underway in Transport Scotland to establish the potential for bringing forward the live exercise, however this will be subject to available budgets and the prioritisation of active travel schemes across the country. Should it be possible to undertake the trial, following this, further discussions will be held with stakeholders, including Stirling Council, and a decision on any further steps balancing the needs of the users of all modes of travel will be made.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce a moratorium on battery energy storage system developments. There is a statutory structure that must be followed for all decision-making. Where new development proposals come forward, each application must be considered on its individual merits.

Where the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) receive information about a proposed BESS site they refer those duty holders (site operators) responsible for the plant to the National Fire Chief Council's (NFCC) Grid Scale Planning Guidance for FRS. These guidelines detail, amongst other elements, minimum standards for fire safety systems and design features, water requirements for firefighting, and access requirements.

BESS sites also fall under special fire precautions which are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 due to the equipment used to collect, store and release electricity as required.

Since 2017-18, more than £1 billion of Pupil Equity Funding has been allocated to 97% of Scotland’s schools. Headteachers use Pupil Equity Funding to support activity over the academic, rather than financial, year, and the National Operational Guidance provides flexibility to carry forward Pupil Equity Funding, in agreement with local authorities, over the financial, and in some cases academic, year, where that best meets the needs of the children and young people. The Scottish Government has therefore not requested the return of any Pupil Equity Funding at the end of any financial year: the Guidance focusses instead on ensuring that the funding is invested to beneficial effect.

The information requested is not held or collected centrally by Scottish Government. However, Police Scotland may be able to provide some data obtained from their National Missing Persons Application which was introduced in April 2019.

In 2025-26 we will provide an additional £55.6 million in funding for NRAC parity, ensuring that all Boards remain within 0.6% of parity.

Since 2012-13, over £4 billion of additional funding has been committed to those NHS Boards below their NRAC parity levels.

Additional funding for NRAC parity, broken down by NHS Board, is provided below. Where no amount is stated, the NHS Board is within 0.6% of parity.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Individual local authorities manage and monitor the provision of independent advocacy to meet local needs, including ongoing provision for care experienced people.

The Scottish Government is currently working with advocacy service providers and key partners, including The Promise Scotland, COSLA and Who Cares? Scotland to further develop our understanding of current advocacy provision and areas where needs are not being met.

The Scottish Government published an independent evaluation of the Children’s Hearings advocacy scheme in September 2024.

In addition, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to Who Cares? Scotland to operate their National Helpline which provides lifelong support to care experienced people.